Sepsis & inflammatory response syndrome(SIRS)

 Sepsis & inflammatory response syndrome(SIRS)

Sepsis is a clinical state that falls along a continuum of pathophysiologic states, starting with a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and ending in multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS) before death. It occurs due to infectious etiology.

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) may occur following infection, pancreatitis, ischemia, trauma, hemorrhagic shock, or immune-mediated phenomena.

SIRS is characterized by having 2 of the following 4 criteria: 

(1) fever (temperature greater than 38 C) or hypothermia (temperature less than 36 C)

(2) tachycardia (heart rate greater than 90 beats per minute)

(3) tachypnea (respiratory rate greater than 20 breaths per minute)

(4) leukocytosis (WBC greater than 12,000/mm3) or leukopenia (WBC less than 4,000/mm3) with or without bandemia (greater than 10%).

SIRS with an infectious source suffices the clinical definition for sepsis